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September 12, 2022

Music Tribe tunes in to a culture of learning with Microsoft Viva Learning

As a global audio business, Music Tribe knows the value of listening. With customers who range from amateur musicians who are pursuing a hobby at home to well-known artists on tour, the organization has made its name responding to customer needs. Music Tribe calls this its “customer obsession,” which also extends to its internal customers—Music Tribe employees. With that in mind, the company asked its employees directly what they needed to be their most empowered and creative. The answer was loud and clear: more opportunities to learn.

In addition to employee feedback, COVID-19 forced Music Tribe to rethink how to develop its people and provide learning anytime, anywhere. The company explored learning and development alternatives and chose the Microsoft Viva Learning platform to provide its people with e-learning and virtual training opportunities. “We decided to invest in the Microsoft Viva Learning platform because it gave us the opportunity to enhance employee engagement, along with learning,” says Lorna Stubbs, Chief Human Resources Officer at Music Tribe.

Music Tribe

“We decided to invest in the Microsoft Viva Learning platform because it gave us the opportunity to enhance employee engagement, along with learning.”

Lorna Stubbs, Chief Human Resources Officer, Music Tribe

Boosting engagement and providing opportunities with Viva Learning and Microsoft Teams

Major growth and a renewed focus on transformation have defined the past few years at Music Tribe. And with a global workforce in 12 locations, it’s vitally important that employees engage with their teams, wherever they’re located. To keep pace with transformation at the company, Music Tribe invested in a Microsoft ecosystem, choosing Microsoft as its go-to for software and services.

With Microsoft already top of mind, deciding on the Viva platform for learning and development came easily for the company. Ultimately, Music Tribe settled on the Viva Learning platform with content from Go1, a learning and development library. The choice of the new platform was based on a desire to enable learning and boost engagement. “We considered various providers, but it was clear to the organization that Microsoft Viva was the right platform for Music Tribe,” says Stubbs.

In the days before Viva, the learning landscape at the company wasn’t ideal for employees who wanted to gain new skills. “Listening to what internal customers are telling you is important, and ours wanted access to more learning and development opportunities,” explains Stubbs. A strong learning culture suits the nature of a growing business like Music Tribe. “We have an obligation to help upskill our employees,” she adds. “We needed to invest in career planning, succession planning, and learning if we were going to help our employees grow along with us.”

“Listening to what internal customers are telling you is important, and ours wanted access to more learning and development opportunities.”

Lorna Stubbs, Chief Human Resources Officer, Music Tribe

Self-guided learning empowers employees to choose their own paths

One of the most popular requests among Music Tribe employees was the ability to curate their own learning paths. “People don’t want to be told what they need to learn,” says Stubbs. “They want to create their own learning journeys, and Viva and Go1 have created an amazing platform for them to be able to do that.” The anytime, anywhere access that Teams provides has been another popular feature, even encouraging the company’s employees to share courses with family members. “It’s been really satisfying to get feedback from people who use the Viva platform to learn when it suits them, or even to help their high school or university-aged children learn new skills,” observes Stubbs.

As part of Music Tribe’s commitment to employee learning, the organization gave everyone one day per month of dedicated learning time, a move that has increased employee engagement. Employees have increased time spent on learning from zero to an average of 10 hours per month, enjoying courses on topics such as setting performance goals and Six Sigma. “The important thing is that our internal customers told us what they needed, and we responded. It’s important to us that our people feel valued,” says Stubbs. “Providing leading-edge tools like Microsoft Viva demonstrates the company’s interest in attracting and nurturing talent from within.”

“Providing leading-edge tools like Microsoft Viva demonstrates the company’s interest in attracting and nurturing talent from within.”

Lorna Stubbs, Chief Human Resources Officer, Music Tribe

Standing out with a people-focused culture

Although Music Tribe already enjoyed a standout culture, Stubbs considers the adoption of Viva Learning proof that the company listens to its employees. “Changing organizational culture is more than hanging posters on a wall,” she says. “It’s about listening, engaging, and taking action.” Investing in learning is also part of a strategy to retain and cultivate the best talent, which is especially important in a competitive industry. “Competition for talent has really accelerated since the pandemic,” says Stubbs “To stay competitive, we must be a more responsive organization that’s known for listening to and supporting employees.”

Given that Teams is now the primary collaboration and communication tool at Music Tribe, the introduction of additional Viva modules into the platform will help create a single hub for everything employees need to thrive. “Teams has already enhanced connectivity across the organization,” says Stubbs. “We’re looking forward to adding more functionality to the Microsoft platform and boosting engagement even further.”

Find out more about Music Tribe on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

“Teams has already enhanced connectivity across the organization. We’re looking forward to adding more functionality to the Microsoft platform and boosting engagement even further.”

Lorna Stubbs, Chief Human Resources Officer, Music Tribe

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